Clamp



March 17, 1925.

R. W. BURNS CLAMP Filed Nov. 9, 1.922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mmvron A Tron/45w Patented Mar. 17, 1925.

PATENT OFFICE.

RAYMOND W. BURNS, OF POUGHKEE-PSEE, HIS-Vi YORK, ASSEGNOB- T0 JAMES L. TAYLOR MFG. CO., A CORPORATION" OF NEVI' YORK.

CLATJIP.

- Application filed November 9, 1922. Serial No. 599,782.

1 0 all whom it may concern- Be it known that I, RAYMOND W. BURNS, a citizen otthe United States, and a resident of Poughkeepsie, in the county of Dutchess and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Clamps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to bar clamps, such as are adapted to be used in clamp inachines, and l have shown the invention applied to one of the clamps of a clamp machine, although I desire it to be understood that the invention can be applied to any bar clamp. lflore particularly the present invention relates to improvements in the clamp shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 599,781, filed Nov. 9, 1922, tor

clamping stock fiatwise or on edge, as in veneering, and for clamping thick stock, such a clamp having upper and lower clamping means and connecting strips.

The objects of the present improvements are to provide improved means of access to such a clamp for inserting or removing work; to avoid taking oil the upper clamp ing means, and the consequent liability oi mislaying or losing it; to enable the upper clamping means to be swung out of the way for the removal and insertion of work; to secure such swinging in a vertical direction; to provide for such swinging automatically; to hingedly connect said clamping means to the rear or adjustable jaw; to provide means for releasably connecting it to the front or fixed head; to secure such pivoting without interfering with the longitudinal adjustment of the clamp for ditterent widths of work; to pivot the connecting strip upon the same latch which secures it to the head; to secure means for automatically locking the hinged connecting strip in closed position by clamping the work, and to obtain other advantages and results as may be brought out in the following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals out reference indicate the same parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a clamp machine clamp constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of thesame in central vertical longitudinal section, excop-t at its attaching end; 9'

Figure 3 is a side elevation of theadjustable jaw and related parts;

Figure i is a plan of the same;

Figure is a plan of the fixed jaw;

Figure 6 is a view online 66 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow, and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the lower portion of the head from the rear, with one of the bars secured thereto.

In the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated in said drawings, 1 indicates a spanner toot which is disposedtransversely of the clamp and extended upwardly from the same to provide a bearing 2 for a cross-rod 3 of a clamp carrier and also on tended downwardly from the clamp to provide a fork 4 to receive another cross-rod 5. I have for convenience shown said spanner foot as a means for connecting the longitudinal angle bars 6, 6 of the clamp, although it will be understood that any other suitable and well-known form of foot or means for joining the ends of said angle bars or holding them in fixed relation to each other, may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The angle bars 6, 6 are also a specific form of bar which is for convenience used to illustrate my invention, and other well-known forms of bars may be employed. The angle bars shown are arranged in parallel relation with two of their flanges vertical and adjacent and the other two horizontal and extending outwardly apart from each other to form a work table, and at their ends away from the spanner foot 1 the bars 6, 6 are secured to a head 7, as by being riveted thereto by their vertical flanges and also by their horizontal flanges, as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2. The portion of this head 7 which lies between the bars spaces them the same as the foot 1, and that portion of the head which overlies the upper surface 01 the bars is wider and forms an upwardly projecting fixed 8 against which the work is adapted to lie. Thelower part of the ill rotation.

head between the bars 6, 6 is apertured longitudinally of the same, see Figure 2, said aperture being enlarged as at 9 to receive a rotatable nut 10 which has a handle 11 at its front projecting end for turning and is provided adjacent the head with an an-, nular flange 12 to be engaged by a retaining member 13 to prevent longitudinal move ment of the nut, while permitting such free The threaded end 14 of a connecting strip 15 enters said nut 10, said strip extending between the bars 6, 6 toward the foot 1 and serving to engage an adjustable jaw 16 to clamp the same toward the fixed jaw 8Q Preferably the rearwardly extending portion of the head 7 forms wings 17, 17 at opposite edges of the horizontally dis posed strip 15, and said wings and the portion of the aperture of the head through which the connecting strip extends are provided with recessed guideways 91, 91 for the edges thereof, to prevent it turning out of horizontal plane, the said guideways being best shown in Figure 7 of the drawings.

The adjustable jaw 16 seats slidably upon the work supporting surfaces of the bars 6, 6 and preferably has at its opposite edges projections 18 which extend over and beneath said edges; the jaw also has arms 19, 19 extending downwardly between the bars 6, 6 adjacent thereto and connected at their lower ends by a cross-piece 20 which under- 7 lies said bars 6, 6, said arms also having another cross-piece 21 higher up between themselves which supports the connecting strip 15, see Figure 2. A bell-crank latch 22 mounted upon the adjustable jaw 16 to swing vertically normally has one of its arms 23 projected into one of a series of apertures 24 in the connecting strip 15 by a spring 25, as said aperture lies above the upper cross-piece 21, to connect the adjustable jaw to said connecting strip; at the same time this connection can be released by swinging the latch 22 to withdraw its arm 23 from the aperture 24, and thus the adjustable jaw set wherever desired for clamping purposes.

The construction thus far described corresponds in a general. way to that shown in my co-pending application Serial N o. 599,- 781, filed November 9, 1922, but in the construction of that application the means for clamping the tops of the fixed and adjustable jaws toward each other could be removed for putting in or taking out work only by withdrawing it longitudinally. In the present application a construction is provided by which the upper clamping means is hinged to one jaw, preferably the rear or adjustable jaw, and releasably engages the other jaw for clamping, so that more con venient access for the work is provided. Describing this feature of the improved clamp, it will be noted that the adjustable jaw 16 has at its top posts 26, 27, Figure 1, which project upwardly and are preferably connected at their tops, as at 28; these posts are spaced transversely of the clamp to provide a slideway for a connecting strip 29, and also they are spaced longitudinally of the clamp so that a bell-crank finger latch 30 may be' pivoted horizontally upon one of them, as 26, and normally swung by a spring 31 engaging its'handle end 32 to force the other end 33 through one of a series of apertures 34 in the connecting strip 29 and into contact with the other post 27, all as shown in Figures 1, 3and 4 of the drawings. The connecting strip 34 is preferably a duplicate of the connecting strip 15 and the looking end 33 of the latch 30 is in vertical alineinent with the locking end 23 of the lower latch 22, so that when the latches are engaged in corresponding holes of the connecting strips and the connecting strips correspondingly drawn upon, the upper and lower ends of the adjustable jaw 16 will be correspondingly clamped against the work in a plane perpendicular to the work=engaging surfaces of the bars 6, 6.

At the upper end of the fixed jaw 8 is a grooved seat 35 extending longitudinally of the clamp and laterally open preferably at its side away from the bar to receive the threaded end portion 36 of the connecting strip 34, said grooved seat having a longitudinal guideway or slot 37 in its bottom to receive the edge of the connecting strip and hold the same against turning. The front end of the grooved seat is enlargedflts at 38, to receive a handled nut 39 adapted to. screw onto the threaded end of the connecting strip and being provided with a flange 40 adapted to underlie ears 41, 41 at the front ends of the upper edges of the grooved seat.

It will be noted that the upper connecting strip 34 lies vertically edgewise instead of horizontally like the lower connecting strip 15, and the construction is such that when work is to be inserted or removed, this connecting strip 34 can swing upwardly upon the finger latch 30 as a pivot, the clamping nut 39 and forward threaded end 36 of the connecting strip moving freely upward out of their grooved seat, At the same time when the clamping nut 39 is returned to its seat and tightened to clamp the adjustable jaw 16 against a piece of work, its flange 40 underlies the ears 41, 41 so that it cannot escape upward.

Preferably means are provided for auto- I matically swinging the upper connecting strip 34 upward for the insertion or removal of work, and I have shown such means as a sleeve 42 slidable upon the rear end of the connecting strip 34 and provided at its forward end with a lateral lug 43 by which it is pivoted to the post 27, the pivot 44 being in alinement with the end 33 of the finger latch 30 which enters the apertures in the connecting strip, as clearly 39, will serve to elevate the connecting strip as soon as the clamping nut is released so as to clear its ears 41, 41. The projections 18 upon the base of the adjustable jaw which hook overthe edges of the bars 6, 6, as before described, serve to prevent the weight of the upper connecting strip when elevated from unduly tilting the adjustable clamping jaw forward, and for this purpose said projections are preferably located only at the rear of the base of said adjustable jaw, as shown.

At the same time, if it is desired to remove the upper clamping strip 29 entirely, it can be done by disengaging the latch 30, for the insertion of work or any other purpose. Then when the operator desires to replace said upper clamping strip he has only to push its rear end against the latch 30, which will allow said end to pass.

While I have shown and described one possible embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that this is only for the purpose of illustrating the principles of the invention and that many modifications and changes can be made in the detail construction without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Therefore, I do not desire to be understood as restricting myself except as required by the following claims when construed in the light of the prior art.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a bar clamp, the combination of two jaws adapted to oppositely engage a p ece of work, and clamping means extending between the pairs of opposite ends of said jaws, one of said clamping means being hingedly connected to one of said jaws and adapted to detachably engage the other aw.

2. In a clamp, the combination with a bar, jaws on said bar adapted to oppositely engage a piece of work, and means for clamping said jaws together at their ends next said bar, of means for clamping together the other ends of said jaws hingedly connected to one of said jaws and detachable from the other.

3. In a clamp, the combination with a bar, jaws on said bar adapted to oppositely engage a piece of work, and means for clamping said jaws together at their ends next said bar, of a connecting strip for clamping together the other ends of said jaws arranged edgewise with respect to the bar, and pivot means detachably engaging said strip on one of the jaws.

4. In a clamp, the combination with a bar, jaws on said bar adapted to oppositely engage a piece of work, and means for clamping said jaws together at their ends next said bar, of anapertured connecting strip for the other ends of said jaws arranged edgewise with respect to the bar, and pivot means on one of said jaws adapted to be removably inserted in anyone of said apertures.

53. In a clamp, the combination with a bar,

jaws on said bar adapted to oppositely engage apiece of work, and means for clamping said jawstogether at their ends next said bar, of posts on the to-p of one of said jaws, a connecting strip between said posts, means for pivoting said strip with respect to said posts, and means on the other jaw for drawing upon said connecting strip.

6. In a clamp, the combination with a bar, jaws on said bar adapted to oppositely engage a piece of work, and means for clamping said jaws together at their ends next said bar, of posts on the top of one of said jaws, an apertured connecting strip between said posts, and a latch fulcrumed on one of said posts and adapted to abut the other post through an aperture of the strip for pivoting said strip.

7. In a bar clamp, the combination of two jaws adapted to oppositely engage a piece of'work, and clamping members extending between the pairs of opposite ends of said jaws, one of said clamping members being hingedly connected to one of said jaws and adapted to detaohably engage the other jaw, and means for swinging said hinged clamping member into open position.

8. In a bar clamp, the combination of two jaws adapted to oppositely engage a piece of work, and clamping members extending between the pairs of opposite ends of said jaws, one of said clamping members being hingedly connected to one of said jaws and adapted to detachably engage the other jaw, a sleeve on said hinged clamping member, and means engaging said sleeve to swing the clamping member into open position.

9. In a bar clamp, the combination of two jaws adapted to oppositely engage a piece of work, and clamping members extending between the pairs of opposite ends of said jaws, one of said clamping members being hingedly connected to one of said jaws and adapted to detachably engage the other jaw, a. sleeve on said hinged clamping member, and a spring engaging said sleeve to swing the clamping member into open position.

10. In a bar clamp, the combination of two jaws adapted to oppositely engage a piece of work, and clamping members extending between the pairs of opposite ends ill) of said jaws, one of said clamping members being hingedly connected to one of saidjaws and adapted to detachably engage the other jaw, a pivoted sleeve on said hinged clamping member, and means engaging said sleeve to swing the clamping member into, open position.

11. In a clamp, the combination with a bar, a fixed jaw and a movable jaw on said bar, and means for clamping said jaws together at their ends next said bar, of posts on the top of one of said jaws, a clamping member between said posts, means for pivotscrew, a connecting strlp extending rearing said member with respect to said posts,

sleeve on said clamping member pivoted on'the same line therewith, and means engaging said sleeve to swing the clamping member into open position.

12. In a clamp, the combination with a bar, a fixed jaw and a movable on said bar, and means for clamping said jaws together at their ends next said bar, of posts on the top of one of said jaws, an apertured connecting strip between said posts, a latch fulcrumed on one of said posts and adapted to abut the other post through an aperture of the strip for pivoting said strip, a sleeve on said connecting strip pivoted to the lastmentioned post opposite the abutting end of the latch, and means engaging said sleeve to swing the connecting strip into open posi tion.

13. In a bar clamp, the combination of a jaw projecting from the bar and having, at

thereto and open laterally, a clamping screw loose in said seat, ahandled nut on said screw, a connectingstrip extending rearward from said screw, a jaw adapted to be engaged by saidstrip, and means for locking said nut against lateral escape from said seat. i

14. In a bar clamp, the combination of a jaw projecting from the bar and having at its end away from the bar a seatparallel thereto and open laterally, a clamping screw loose in said seat, a handled nut on said ward from said screw, a jaw adapted to be engaged by said strip, and means on said seat for automatically locking said nutagainst lateral-escape therefrom when tightened in clamping.

15. In a bar clamp, the combination of a jaw projecting from the bar and having at its end away from the bar a seat parallel thereto and open at its side away from the bar, a clamping screw loose in said seat, a handled nut on said screw at the front'of the head, a connecting strip extending rearward from said screw, and a second jaw adapted to be engaged by said strip, said seat having lugs at its forward end and said nut having a portion adapted to lie beneath said lugs when the nut is tightened in clamping and prevent lateral escape from the seat.

RAYMOND w. BURNS. 

